New BG1EasyTutu Questions

[usprivateer]

Some more noobish questions for folks.

 

Just finished a new install of BG1EasyTutu plus most of the mods listed here in cmorgan's thread for a first time run through on BG1. I played BG2 unmodded on my Mac a few years ago, so I do have a decent idea of game mechanics and whatnot.

 

I think I may have gone and shot myself in the foot. I installed Sword Coast Strategems, BG2-Tweaks and several others. Began a new game and created my nice new Holy Liberator Paladin and went out to find out who killed my father.....

 

and promptly got my head handed to me.

 

Seriously, is it even possible to get through the first part of the game when you have these mods installed? Example: In the beginning of BG1 there is a mage waiting for you on the stairs of the Friendly Arms Inn. After speaking with him, he buffs up with a few defensive spells/shields, puts my entire party to sleep and kills us all with 1-3 strikes per death. My party included Imoen, Xzar, Montaran, and Eldoth. All dead, fast. Tried 4 times, best I could do was have the PC survive, but all the others are dead. Not good.

 

Allright, finished with the childish whining, and on to the questions.

 

1. Why can't I get into the main keep at Candlekeep? The door behind Gorian is locked. Is that normal? I also can't find Finch. ReadMe says she's at Candlekeep, where?

 

2. Is it possible to uninstall portions of mods in an ongoing game? Can I uninstall some of the portions of Sword Coast Strategems and BG2-Tweaks in an ongoing game, and possibly reinstall them later? I'm thinking to uninstall some of the mage enhancement mods for the early part of the game, then install later after the PC and party are a bit stronger. Is this possible?

 

3. Am I missing something here? Am I just a lousy player? Seriously, with the mods I have installed, even wandering low level beasties in the wild are nearly wiping out the entire party. Playing an unmodded BG2 a few years ago, I remember some challenging battles where the PC or NPCs died and I had to reload, but nothing like this. Here's an example: I remember in BG2 there were a few sections where bandits would waylay you and attack in Athkatla City. That caused me some problems and some NPCs died. Reload and better battle tactics would get me through. This time, no battle tactics are helping, there's nothing I can do.

 

Any advice or suggestions will be appreciated, even if it's to say gee, that was really stupid to install all those, or, gosh, you must be a terrible player.....

 

Cheers all,

 

-USP

[Kulyok]

If you haven't tried BG1 before, try it without SCS installed for the first time. Durlag's Tower is quite difficult for a first-time player even when unmodded(well, it was for me).

 

Personally, when dealing with difficult mods(Grey Clan, Tactics, whatever), I like dividing my party, so that the enemy attacks somebody, and when his spells/powers are wasted, the rest of the party arrives, fresh and ready to do battle. And traps. Traps help a lot.

[berelinde]

SCS adds a whole lotta challenges for the first time player. The recommendation that you try it was made with the understanding that you enjoy challenges. I, personally, have all the tactical superiority of a brain-dead gerbil, so I wouldn't attempt it. Having said that, I did whop Tarnesh straight out of Candlekeep with nothing but Imoen, Xzar, and Montaron for company, but it wouldn't have been possible had Montaron not managed a successful hide-in-shadows roll and backstabbed Tarnesh first, at the same time as Xzar did a series of Larloch's minor drains, and Immy let him have it with her wand of missiles. And I needed to reload a bunch of times. And I still lost Xzar. So it's possible, but tough.

 

The beauty of SCS is that you can install it as often as you like, adding components as it suits your playing style and you party's abilities.

[usprivateer]

SCS adds a whole lotta challenges for the first time player. The recommendation that you try it was made with the understanding that you enjoy challenges.

Yep, understood. I do enjoy challenges, and I had thought that I had enough experience with BG2 to understand how to do this, maybe not In my game, Tarnesh moves so fast, buffs up and puts the entire party to sleep. Kills everyone before you can do anything.

I, personally, have all the tactical superiority of a brain-dead gerbil, so I wouldn't attempt it. Having said that, I did whop Tarnesh straight out of Candlekeep with nothing but Imoen, Xzar, and Montaron for company, but it wouldn't have been possible had Montaron not managed a successful hide-in-shadows roll and backstabbed Tarnesh first, at the same time as Xzar did a series of Larloch's minor drains, and Immy let him have it with her wand of missiles. And I needed to reload a bunch of times. And I still lost Xzar. So it's possible, but tough.

I'm not understanding what's going on in my game. A direwolf just killed the PC with 2 hits, and the PC although new, has an AC of -1. How is that possible?

The beauty of SCS is that you can install it as often as you like, adding components as it suits your playing style and you party's abilities.

Does that mean that I can load SCS later in the game? Or remove portions of it now and add later? All with the same game going, or do I need to start new games each time.

 

Humm, I'm also getting a CTD whenever I right click on one of the items modified. Katanas, spell cases etc...., vanilla items are fine, but the items that were modified for the weapon rebalancing, and unlimited stacking are causing a crash.

 

I think I'll unload and try again. 3rd times the charm ehh?

 

-USP

[Guest Guest]

Sword Coast Stratagems greatly increases the challenge. It demands much more of you as a tactician.

 

In BG1 the combination of Sleep and Horror are devastating against the enemy. Why should the enemy not use them against you? Your party buffs before an encounter you know is waiting around the corner. Why should the enemy not do the same against you? As I mentioned in a thread in the SCS forum, the protagonist is a marked man or woman, with a bounty on his or her head, leaving a swath of corpses in his or her wake and becoming notorious. The Sword Coast is replete with spies and assassins. Mages have scrying ability.

 

There is almost always a way to win, it's just a matter of coming up with the right strategy.

 

I'll let David or someone else answer what can be removed or added with SCS during the course of a game.

 

In my experience of either in unmodded BG or with SCS, Tarnesh at FAI is most easily defeated by disrupting his spellcasting. Fire Imoen's wand of magic missiles at him non-stop.

 

Finch you should find standing next to the chanters who are reciting verses about Alaundo on the grounds of the library. IIRC, she'll simply introduce herself at that time. You'll find her again ater (in Beregost?) and can add her as a party member then.

 

You can't enter the Candlekeep library until chapter 6, after you have returned to Baldur's Gate.

[berelinde]

You can add or remove any components at any time.

[usprivateer]

Thanks for the help folks.

I'll remove it for now, let the PC level up a bit and then reinstall. I think maybe I need to "level up" a bit as well before I try this.

 

I typically RP games as well and try to "keep it real", but I have to balance that with fun and frustration.

 

Glad to hear that the components can be added and removed in a hot game.

 

Cheers,

 

-USP

[BigRob]

I'm not understanding what's going on in my game. A direwolf just killed the PC with 2 hits, and the PC although new, has an AC of -1. How is that possible?

 

That's actually possible in vanilla BG1. A low level character (even a fighter) has very, very few HPs. With 1d8 damage on a bite, it's possible to do 16 points of damage in two hits, which would kill even a dwarven fighter with max HP and 19 CON. With a -1AC, it's also possible that a dire wolf needed a 20 to hit you (though they are 4HD IIRC), which would further magnify its damage output.

 

I've learned not to walk off the road before you've got a few people in your party, especially with a mage PC...

[DavidW]

Just to confirm Berelinde's comment about SCS: you can install / uninstall pretty much at will and it won't cause any problems. (The relocated C3 assassins are an exception, there's some (small) chance that you can cause problems by uninstalling that at an awkward moment).

 

I've got one piece of tactical advice: about the best thing a low-level party can do when meeting a hostile mage is scatter. You have basically no protection against their magic but most of their spells have a manageably sized area of effect.

[cmorgan]

And the true advantage of SCS is you can actually learn from your enemies; they use only those things available to the player as tactics. In fact, they only use BG1 spells, rather than the additional ones available as BG2; they play by the rules. If you see an enemy using potions, spells, combinations, eetc., file the info away, because you will be able to do the same thing (no "cheese" scripts where a L3 Mage casts Finger of Death, or has unlimited L5 spells, or anything - if a PC can do it, DavidW's AI will try it. The only thing I haven't seen his AI do is play Keep Away between party members, where PC fires an arrow and moves in one direction, drawing the target, while NPC 1 moves to a safe distance and fires her arrow, attracting the target, while NPC 2 moves to a safe distance and fires an arrow at the target, rinse, repeat until pincushioned).

[Guest Steve]

If you go directly south from where you met Imoen, you'll run into Kivan, an elvish archer. He should be able to nail Tarnesh to the door of the FAI. As a general rule, equip everyone with a ranged weapon and hammer spellcasters before closing.

 

Cmorgan's tactic of Keep Away is exactly how you'll survive at low levels. Run away first before using healing potions or switching to ranged weapons. If the enemy chases you, continue to run and let the other party members take him out. Yes, even your Holy Liberator.

 

I'll tell you right now, you'll want to remove the "Harder giant and phase spiders" component.

 

With SCS, mages have potions of invisibility and will use them to run away and heal up, so you'll need to stock up on See Invisible scrolls. But, you'll also end up with lots of Invisibility potions that lets you do the same thing.

 

About getting into Candlekeep library, I read somewhere that it was possible with a thief that puts all his points into pick locks.

[Guest Steve]

About getting into Candlekeep library, I read somewhere that it was possible with a thief that puts all his points into pick locks.

Er, this is wrong. In Tutu picking the lock says nothing, but in BG1 it returns the not-a-real-door message "... protected from simple spells".

[Ieldra]

@usprivateer:

 

I've started my first SCS game a few days ago, too, so I'm in pretty much the same position as you. Here are a few hints for the early game:

 

Tarnesh: I could kill him with a party of three, my PC as a Swashbuckler, Imoen and Kagain. His +5 hp adjustment helps greatly in surviving the first two or three levels. Or you can have an elf PC with 90% Sleep and Charm immunity if you have installed the Tweak that adds this very much missed feature of elves.

 

Wolves: have you installed the "Reduced Walking Speed" component (I can't remember which mod it was from). I recommend not to install it. You can play the Keep Away game as suggested above more easily with the BG2 walking speed. I have even killed the Dread Wolf on the Lion's Way (area E of Candlekeep) with only Imoen and myself this way. Pretty much every single melee-only monster in the game can be killed with Keep Away if there is enough space to run around in. That includes bears (to make it easier, don't install the Faster Bears component), ogres of any type but mages, and single wolves (rather rare, and dangerously fast). It also works with small groups of half-ogres or ogrillons.

 

Keep your party size down until you're L3 (at best, someway into L3, so that NPCs join at L3): That does make some early encounters even more difficult, but you'll level up more quickly and get to the critical L3 threshold faster. L3 is where your mages can use Stinking Cloud and Resist Fear (both buyable at Thalantyr's abode W of Beregost). I've played with 3 party members until Beregost, and with 4 down to Nashkel, then got Minsc and Dynaheir. A specialist mage helps because she can cast Resist Fear *and* Stinking Cloud at L3. I consider these spells the most important mage spells in low levels.

 

Spell selection: Don't install "Remove spells that weren't in BG1". I don't know if the rather low-level (L2) priest spell "Invisibility Purge" was in BG1, but I can't remember it (although I don't know if it is because I never needed it or because it wasn't in the game) - and it is *very* important. I never enter a mage battle without it any more.

 

For easy leveling, I also recommend Protection from Petrification, which is a spell I'd give an NPC mage upon joining. All those basilisks don't do much damage apart from their petrification, and are easily killed by two L3 fighters and a mage protected by this spell, and give very good xp. But keep your unprotected party members away, SCS basilisks can smell who is unprotected . And Mutamin himself might be somewhat hard for a L3 party.

 

BTW, I don't agree with the suggestion to remove the Harder Spiders component. They are harder, but not nearly as hard as pre-buffed mages are. Pre-buffed mages are about the most drastic difficulty hit you can imagine. It makes mages from ridiculously easy to, in some cases, ricidulously hard, even where you encounter only single ones. So far I've survived all of them, but things got frustrating at times.

[cmorgan]

Good stuff; I also agree on skipping the Walking Speeds component from TutuFixv17 (or any other source except BG2_Tweaks, if it has made in there). The work done to make it possible was wonderfully done by top coders, but had unanticipated side effects that I tested and posted a long time ago on PPG. I believe there are good people working on making it possible, and incorporating at the end of an install position, but I am hoping for an eventual update of TutuFix which removes it from options (because it really messes some stuff up, including slow not working, and haste acting oddly, and most of all polymorph doing very, very, very strange things).